Putting an SSD in an x60s

[Ollo]

Greetings!

Just got my first Thinkpad, a well oiled x60s with a 55 GB HDD. I've been thinking about cloning the c: drive onto a SSD but want to make sure the system will take the SSD without any problems. I believe I have the 2.18 bios. This is the SSD I'm planning on getting: http://www.komplett.se/k/ki.aspx?sku=601323

The plan is to hook up a USB HDD, boot from a CD with a cloning program on, and then copy the c: drive onto the USB HDD. Then turn the system off, switch out the old c: drive for the SSD, boot from CD again and copy the c: image to the SSD.

Do you think it will work?

Cheers!
Ollo

[Harryc]

You're better off installing the blank SSD in the Thinkpad and then putting the original HD in the USB enclosure then cloning from the HD to the SSD. What OS is currently on the HD?

[bill bolton]

USB enclosure then cloning from the HD to the SSD.

Simply cloning an HDD to an SSD often produces suboptimal results in terms of SSD performance. Some care, tweaking of cloning parameters and preferably using a tool that understands what an SSD is, is definitely recommended!

Cheers,

Bill B.

[Harryc]

It actually goes further than that, a fresh Windows 7 or Vista install is recommended to align the drive and to enable trim support. I am not aware of any cloning tools that do that. That's why I asked what OS is involved here.

[IvanAndreevich]

Any SATA SSD should be compatible. I've ran X25-M and Corsair M225 (Indilinx) in an X60 tablet. I, too, recommend a clean install.

[Ollo]

Thanks for the replies!

I'm on a budget and was planning on saving the Win 7 upgrade for a while. I also have no USB-enclosure, but a USB hard drive - that's the reason why the cloning process is a bit complicated.

Anyway, I take it the SSD drive will work straight out of the box. However, after reading your comments, I have to give the upgrade some more thought and perhaps wait with the SSD until I can get Win 7.

Again, thanks! Your comments are much appruciated.

EDIT: OS is XP Pro.

[EOMtp]

Ollo: Your original plan is perfectly fine. Do exactly as you stated in your first post at the top of this thread. If the resulting SSD does not boot after you restore the backup image, then repair its MBR (Master Boot Record) using any one of many free utilities available for that task.

[Ollo]

Just got an idea. This is a used laptop with a fresh install of XP. I dont have any XP install discs, and there is no restore partition (that I am aware of, all I see is C: in Explorer), but! there is a XP serial sticker underneath the laptop. Is there a way I could use that and make a fresh installation of XP? I have read about leaglly downloading Win7 and installing it if you have a legit key, but what about XP?

Thanks in advance!

Ollo

[EOMtp]

The key on that sticker gives you a legal license, but you have a practical "problem" to solve. You need an installation CD or image of CD for Windows XP from which to install.

The key on the sticker you mention will be "invalid" for installation, i.e., it will not be accepted as a valid key during the fresh install process. You will need the key from the orange sticker on the CD jacket of the XP installation CD.

[Ollo]

I see. Thanks! That win7 license seems more and more tempting...

[IvanAndreevich]

Ollo, you CAN use the OEM sticker on the bottom of your machine for a clean install. What you need is an OEM Windows XP disc to install it with. I don't think that's illegal either, because you are installing it on the same machine it came licensed with. The key is not specific for Lenovo, so a generic Windows XP OEM disc will work with it.

[ZaZ]

XP is so old I doubt there's a way to legally download it. Another option would be to find a XP and install it using whatever key the disc came with. XP has a 30 day trial. Then you can use the XP activation program to change the key to the COA key and activate it. The XP activation program allows for the changing of keys as do Vista and Windows 7. I've done this a number of times and it's always worked.

[Ollo]

Good news then! Thanks, Ivan and Fred.